The Times is running a new video on its website showing the police wielding tasers in a raid on a squat in Earl Street the day after the main G20 protests in the City of London.
The video, taken by a prone protester, shows officers, believed to be from City of London police, screaming at people to get face down on the floor as one apparently stands with a Taser in a two-handed grip in front of him. Another stands with his baton raised...one officer can apparently be seen walking near to the group of protesters on the floor with his Taser pointing at the ground.
When the officer can be seen holding the weapon in a two-handed grip, the protesters are apparently already on the floor and do not appear to pose any serious threat. It is not known what level of threat the officers faced before the video was recorded that may have led to the Taser being drawn. The weapons are meant to be used to resolve violent situations with minimum force, allowing officers to stay a safe distance from someone who poses a threat.
For more than a minute several officers can be heard screaming “Face down on the floor — do it now”, while another man, thought to be a protester, says: “Stay calm everybody.”
